Will the House Block the Farm Bill Pig-Out?

Pundits claim that partisanship is creating gridlock in Washington. But in the Senate, the two parties still know how to make bipartisan deals on big government subsidy legislation. That chamber may move ahead with a massive agriculture bill that would spend almost $1 trillion over the next decade. Supporters are calling it a "reform" bill because it would trim a measly two percent from projected spending over the period. Most of the bill's spending is for food programs, such as food stamps. Those subsidies ought to be cut, but the farm subsidy spending in the bill is even more absurd. Farm subsidies distort agriculture, damage the environment, and harm our international trade relations. The politics of farm subsidies are laced with hypocrisy. The Democrats claim to be concerned about the disparity between the haves and have-nots and the Republicans argue that the welfare state has grown too large. Yet every five years or so, Congress passes a giant farm subsidy bill that expands the lavish welfare system enjoyed by well-off farm businesses...more